The Infinite Sea - Rick Yancey


So, you know how you watch TV shows and sometimes there's an episode that's totally full of action and thrills, and sometimes there's an episode that's more about the characters and the development of the intricacies of each backstory? Well, The Infinite Sea is the latter in the series, for sure, and that's not a bad thing!

How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.

Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.

Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

I've seen a number of reviews of this book that note the book is "slower" than the previous book in the series (The 5th Wave). It's true, in many respects. However, below the surface, there is a ton of suspense and fabulous character development that you don't necessarily find in a lot of series about the destruction of the human race. While others may find this to be a negative, I am actually quite grateful for Yancey's work developing the characters. I could see, perhaps (and please, hear me out, Rick!), a more even spread between the two books, between the action and the character development. BUT, I can only critique what's there, and not what others HOPE to see.

I really enjoyed this instalment in the 5th wave series, and am grateful for Yancey's ability to weave depth and complexity into his characters as well as the post-apocalyptic world he has put together. The book is narrated from multiple perspectives for each Part of the novel, and each section brings more to the surface than I had really expected. The final sections are revealing, surprising, and (to me) satisfying. I really liked this novel and hope others will see that action isn't all there is to a series on post-apocalyptic themes. The earth is falling apart and young people work to bring it all together in both predictable and unpredictable ways.

Yancey's book is worth the read, in my opinion, if you've read The 5th Wave. And despite what ridiculous reviewers (many of whom haven't even read the book yet!) on Goodreads say, I think this novel really brings a lot of necessary depth and development to the series. 

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